Michael Thompson
Guest Emeritus Research Scholar
Equity and Justice Research Group
Population and Just Societies Program
Biography
Originally a professional soldier, Michael Thompson studied anthropology (first degree and PhD at University College London, B.Litt at Oxford) whi9le also following a career as a Himalayan Mountaineer. (Annapurna South Face 1970, Everest Southwest Face 1975). His early research on how something second-hand becomes an antique (Rubbish Theory, 1979, Oxford University Press) led to work on the "energy tribes" (in various western think tanks), on risk, on Himalayan deforestation and sustainable development, on household product development (in Unilever), on global climate change, on technology and development, and on what might be called "the even newer Institutionalism" (e.g., Cultural Theory, co-authored with Richard Ellis and Aaron Wildvasky, 1990, West View).Dr. Thompson is a Fellow at the James Marin Institute for Science and Civilization, University of Oxford and a Senior Researcher at the Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Research, University of Bergen, Norway. At IIASA he is affiliated with the Risk and Resilience (RISK) Program.
Last update: 02 MAY 2016
Publications
Kunreuther, H.C., Linnerooth-Bayer, J., Lathrop, John, Atz, H., Macgill, S., Mandl, C., Schwarz, M., & Thompson, M. (1983). The USA: conflicts in California. In: Risk Analysis and Decision Processes. The Siting of Liquefied Energy Gas Facilities in Four Countries. pp. 123-147 Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-82128-8 10.1007/978-3-642-82128-8_6.
Kunreuther, H.C., Linnerooth-Bayer, J., Lathrop, J., Atz, H., Macgill, S., Mandl, C., Schwarz, M., & Thompson, M. (1983). The framework. In: Risk Analysis and Decision Processes. pp. 18-31 Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-82128-8 10.1007/978-3-642-82128-8_2.
Kunreuther, H. C., Linnerooth-Bayer, J., Lathrop, J., Atz, H., Macgill, S., Mandl, C., Schwarz, M., & Thompson, M. (1983). The problem. In: Risk Analysis and Decision Processes. The Siting of Liquefied Energy Gas Facilities in Four Countries. pp. 1-17 Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-82128-8 10.1007/978-3-642-82128-8_1.
Thompson, M. (1982). Among the Energy Tribes: The Anthropology of the Current Policy Debate. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-82-059
Thompson, M. & Wildavsky, A. (1982). Proposal to Create a Cultural Theory of Risk. In: Risk Analysis Controversy: An Institutional Perspective. Eds. Kunreuther, H.C. & Ley, E.V., pp. 145-161 Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. ISBN 3540120122